The year of 1864 in the life of Lincoln, and in the life of the nation. (Encore presentation.)

Tulsa, Oklahoma – (Note: This program originally aired earlier this year.) On today's show, we speak with the acclaimed Civil War historian Charles Bracelen Flood, whose many books include "Lee: The Last Years" and "Grant and Sherman: The Friendship that Won the Civil War." Flood's new book (published by Simon and Schuster) is called "1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History." After (perhaps) 1776 --- according to our guest today --- 1864 is the most crucial year in U.S. history. Flood's new book thus traces the events and outcomes of this pivotal year, showing how both affected and altered not just the life of America but the life of its president. Indeed, Lincoln emerges in these pages as the man who not only saved the nation, but who also --- despite the demands and tragedies of the Civil War as well as rampant political infighting --- fostered our country's all-important westward expansion through such endeavors as the Homestead Act and the development of the railroad system.